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Great grandparents' hotel business in Hawaii

He actually went back to the Big Island and found his future wife, whose last name I believe was Higashi, but I don’t know anything about her family other than that they had a reputation for making very good poi on the Big Island. Anyway, she went back with him to Maui and together they scraped enough money to start their own hotel. So they started the Kagawa hotel in Kahului or Wailuku in Maui. Must have been Kahului. Anyway, it was the only Japanese hotel and so they did pretty well because there were obviously a lot of immigrants coming in from Japan and I guess at that time there was even trade that was developing. Anyway, he did pretty well as a hotel owner and he and his wife had four children.


business economics Hawaii hotels management United States

Date: April 25, 2018

Location: California, US

Interviewer: John Esaki

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum

Interviewee Bio

Robert Fujioka was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1952. He attended the University of Michigan earning a BA degree and earned an MBA from the University of Hawai'i. He has been in the banking industry since 1974 and currently serves as Vice Chair, Japanese American National Museum Board of Trustees, a Trustee of the Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation, and the First Hawaiian Bank Foundation. (November 2018)

George Ariyoshi
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Ariyoshi,George

Decision to run for governor

(b.1926) Democratic politician and three-term Governor of Hawai'i

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George Ariyoshi
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Ariyoshi,George

Being fair

(b.1926) Democratic politician and three-term Governor of Hawai'i

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George Ariyoshi
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Ariyoshi,George

Role of Hawaii internationally

(b.1926) Democratic politician and three-term Governor of Hawai'i

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Jean Hayashi Ariyoshi
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Ariyoshi,Jean Hayashi

Working in the pineapple fields

Former First Lady of Hawai'i

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Jean Hayashi Ariyoshi
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Ariyoshi,Jean Hayashi

Tree planting

Former First Lady of Hawai'i

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Kazuo Funai
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Funai,Kazuo

Bad business deal (Japanese)

(1900-2005) Issei businessman

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Kazuo Funai
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Funai,Kazuo

Company in Tokyo burned down (Japanese)

(1900-2005) Issei businessman

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Barbara Kawakami
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Kawakami,Barbara

Going back to Hawaii

An expert researcher and scholar on Japanese immigrant clothing.

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Barbara Kawakami
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Kawakami,Barbara

1920 labor strike

An expert researcher and scholar on Japanese immigrant clothing.

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Barbara Kawakami
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Kawakami,Barbara

Bombing of Pearl Harbor

An expert researcher and scholar on Japanese immigrant clothing.

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Barbara Kawakami
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Kawakami,Barbara

Helping soldiers

An expert researcher and scholar on Japanese immigrant clothing.

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Ann K. Nakamura
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Nakamura,Ann K.

Image of Americans

Sansei from Hawaii living in Japan. Teacher and businesswoman.

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Richard Kosaki
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Kosaki,Richard

Growing up in Waikiki

(b. 1924) Political scientist, educator, and administrator from Hawai`i

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Richard Kosaki
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Kosaki,Richard

Working at a first aid station on Oahu after December 7

(b. 1924) Political scientist, educator, and administrator from Hawai`i

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Richard Kosaki
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Kosaki,Richard

Under suspicion after Pearl Harbor

(b. 1924) Political scientist, educator, and administrator from Hawai`i

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